NEW DELHI: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s statement that “CAA [Citizenship Amendment Act] is just bad for India” has not gone down well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and party MP Meenakshi Lekhi trained guns at the corporate biggie on Tuesday.
Calling it a “perfect example” of “How literate need to be educated”, Meenakshi Lekhi tweeted: “Precise reason for CAA to grant opportunities to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. How about granting these opportunities to Syrian Muslims instead of Yezidis in USA?”
This outburst came after on Monday, the Microsoft CEO spoke out against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and was quoted as saying: “I think what is happening is sad…It’s just bad…I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or become the next CEO of Infosys.”
Though Microsoft promptly tried to make amends and issued a fresh statement by Satya Nadella but the damage was done.
Meenakshi Lekhi’s analogy of providing “opportunities” to Syrian Muslims instead of Yezidis in the US was intended to highlight the victims have been the religious minority facing persecution, who are being given priority through the CAA.
Excluding Muslims, the CAA seeks to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, and Buddhists fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh on or before December 31, 2014.